Dear Seniors,
I work in a Central Govt PSU Mines. Here we have allotted quarters to our employees at very low rent and electricity charges. Electricity & water is supplied by us to the quarters. Electricity is purchased from Central Grid. For water we are paying huge cess to State Govt for drawing water from river.
Since inception there are no instance of taking water charges from the employees who have been allotted quarters.Now on direction of our Head Office we have imposed water charges @ Rs.50/- pm from the employees who have been allotted quarters.
Due to this, the Unions have given a strike notice alleging change in service condition for making water chargeable.
Are the Unions right? Are we bound to provide free water to them as earlier?
Kindly advise.
From India, Calcutta
1I work in a Central Govt PSU Mines. Here we have allotted quarters to our employees at very low rent and electricity charges. Electricity & water is supplied by us to the quarters. Electricity is purchased from Central Grid. For water we are paying huge cess to State Govt for drawing water from river.
Since inception there are no instance of taking water charges from the employees who have been allotted quarters.Now on direction of our Head Office we have imposed water charges @ Rs.50/- pm from the employees who have been allotted quarters.
Due to this, the Unions have given a strike notice alleging change in service condition for making water chargeable.
Are the Unions right? Are we bound to provide free water to them as earlier?
Kindly advise.
From India, Calcutta
By givind free water ,you have created right in favour of workers allotted quarters. You van not change service conditions without givind Notice of change requiere under the I.D. Act which anyway the Union would have contest. But the matter could have been discusse d acties the table and if you had made out strong case for your proposal, then some way the matter may have been resolver bilatterly or the intervntion of govt machinery ( conciliation/adudication).You can still attempt.
Regards
V.LNagarkar
HR-CONSULTANT
From India, Mumbai
Regards
V.LNagarkar
HR-CONSULTANT
From India, Mumbai
your head Office is right in directing you to collect Rs50/- from Each House/Quarters towards water Charges.Free water can not be supplied for Ever by any State.This does not amount to change in service Conditions.We are all paying Water Charges @ more than Rs50/- Per Month.Here vital question will be whether Company is getting free water? How Long Company can bear entire cost of water? Employees/Union should view the matter in proper perspective rather than resorting to threat of "Strike" which reflects the maturity of union leaders
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
1. Supply of free water and also free electricity to the employees quarters is a facility which they have enjoyed for many years, actually these facilities are/were being provided largely in those areas where employee do not wish join the job. These facilities are provided to attract the employees hence indirectly it has become service condition.
2. For introducing any change in the service condition a notice under Section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act is required to be given.
3. I am presuming that you have first discussed this issue with the unions and when they did not agree, you have implemented this.
4. You should have started with monitoring & controlling the supply timings of water supply and then grdually should have moved further.
5. It is true that such facilities can not be provided free of cost as free facilities are always misused.
From India, Thane
2. For introducing any change in the service condition a notice under Section 9A of the Industrial Disputes Act is required to be given.
3. I am presuming that you have first discussed this issue with the unions and when they did not agree, you have implemented this.
4. You should have started with monitoring & controlling the supply timings of water supply and then grdually should have moved further.
5. It is true that such facilities can not be provided free of cost as free facilities are always misused.
From India, Thane
Friends,
Even when free quarters are allotted water & elec.charges should be collected separately based on meter readings if they fixed the meters to monitor/check wasteful consumption. This type of facility is common in mining locations where employees are living in remote/polluted areas. Now the management has taken a decision to charge for water consumption, if it became necessary to amend the SO they should go ahead. This is vary nominal levy and your officials should talk to the unions for amicable settlement. Even if the matter should be referred for conciliation the management should take it up.
From India, Bangalore
Even when free quarters are allotted water & elec.charges should be collected separately based on meter readings if they fixed the meters to monitor/check wasteful consumption. This type of facility is common in mining locations where employees are living in remote/polluted areas. Now the management has taken a decision to charge for water consumption, if it became necessary to amend the SO they should go ahead. This is vary nominal levy and your officials should talk to the unions for amicable settlement. Even if the matter should be referred for conciliation the management should take it up.
From India, Bangalore
Dear Seniors,
Thanks for your valuable comments. This is to inform you that we failed to recover water charges from the employees. For your knowledge I am narrating the day to day incidents, so that you can comment regarding our reason for failure.
20/04/17 - We issued the circular for deduction water charges and informed the Unions.
24/04/17 - 04 out of 05 operating 05 Unions gave strike notice w.e.f 29/04/17 alleging change in service conditions.
25/04/17 - had meeting with all Unions. They opposed. It was briefed that since it was a policy decision, has to be implemented and being implemented uniformly throughout all mines of the PSU.
28/04/17 - Had conciliation in presence of Labour Enforcement Officer. It was told that since it was a policy decision, has to be implemented and being implemented uniformly throughout all mines of the PSU. LEO requested for deferring the implementation but we recorded that we are unable to stop the deduction.
29/04/17 - In evening it was informed by HQ that all mines are uniformly implementing this decision.
30/04/17(Sunday) - at noon paysheet was printed with deduction of water charges. In evening i came to know that, 03 neighbouring mines have not deducted the same. The mater was reported to HQ, who were un-informed till then. At late night HQ personally requested to all Union leaders that due to some communication problem other mines have not deducted, as such maintain congenial IR for 01 day.
01/05/17- Since 1st shift all Unions stopped production. I have been blamed for this fuss. Production resumed only on reprinting of paysheet without deducting the water charges and issuing a circular deferring the deduction.
Kindly comment.
From India, Calcutta
Thanks for your valuable comments. This is to inform you that we failed to recover water charges from the employees. For your knowledge I am narrating the day to day incidents, so that you can comment regarding our reason for failure.
20/04/17 - We issued the circular for deduction water charges and informed the Unions.
24/04/17 - 04 out of 05 operating 05 Unions gave strike notice w.e.f 29/04/17 alleging change in service conditions.
25/04/17 - had meeting with all Unions. They opposed. It was briefed that since it was a policy decision, has to be implemented and being implemented uniformly throughout all mines of the PSU.
28/04/17 - Had conciliation in presence of Labour Enforcement Officer. It was told that since it was a policy decision, has to be implemented and being implemented uniformly throughout all mines of the PSU. LEO requested for deferring the implementation but we recorded that we are unable to stop the deduction.
29/04/17 - In evening it was informed by HQ that all mines are uniformly implementing this decision.
30/04/17(Sunday) - at noon paysheet was printed with deduction of water charges. In evening i came to know that, 03 neighbouring mines have not deducted the same. The mater was reported to HQ, who were un-informed till then. At late night HQ personally requested to all Union leaders that due to some communication problem other mines have not deducted, as such maintain congenial IR for 01 day.
01/05/17- Since 1st shift all Unions stopped production. I have been blamed for this fuss. Production resumed only on reprinting of paysheet without deducting the water charges and issuing a circular deferring the deduction.
Kindly comment.
From India, Calcutta
Dear Baishali,
It's obvious Unions will not take it kindly, sure they are going to object & agitate. It's unfortunate different admin/unions are taking their own stand. The communication gap should have been avoided. Likely those units which did not implement the recovery, yielded to the pressure and went on without recovery by ignoring your communication. It's normal the electric power in mine quarters are freely used for all purposes without any limit as there were no meters installed and went unchecked. Now, all said and done there appears no immediate solution to you. Probably you have to wait till the negotiation rounds commences for wage revision at that time, from the management side, you have to press for separate recovery based on metered consumption. I may suggest one option right now, which may or may not be possible. You are recovering the house/qrs rent, right ? bifurcate the very same rent into rent + water + electric power + sanitation, of course without any increase overall (keep it at the same level) in the rent amount for the present to place on record that appropriate charges being recovered. This can be done administratively without even involving the unions for the present by rewriting your pay roll programme. Later on you may include in the agenda for regularisation during wage revision time. The hike in the wages could be adjusted in the over all increase in their wages. I could also suggest to safe guard yourself from possible acquisition that you failed to communicate properly to all your units for implementing the recovery by readying the relevant records to show/prove that you did your job adequately but others ignored it, if what you narrated is the fact. I also believe your communications in this regard could have been destroyed or not acknowledged to maintain that they have not received. It's your duty to show the record who received it, when and where and how.
From India, Bangalore
It's obvious Unions will not take it kindly, sure they are going to object & agitate. It's unfortunate different admin/unions are taking their own stand. The communication gap should have been avoided. Likely those units which did not implement the recovery, yielded to the pressure and went on without recovery by ignoring your communication. It's normal the electric power in mine quarters are freely used for all purposes without any limit as there were no meters installed and went unchecked. Now, all said and done there appears no immediate solution to you. Probably you have to wait till the negotiation rounds commences for wage revision at that time, from the management side, you have to press for separate recovery based on metered consumption. I may suggest one option right now, which may or may not be possible. You are recovering the house/qrs rent, right ? bifurcate the very same rent into rent + water + electric power + sanitation, of course without any increase overall (keep it at the same level) in the rent amount for the present to place on record that appropriate charges being recovered. This can be done administratively without even involving the unions for the present by rewriting your pay roll programme. Later on you may include in the agenda for regularisation during wage revision time. The hike in the wages could be adjusted in the over all increase in their wages. I could also suggest to safe guard yourself from possible acquisition that you failed to communicate properly to all your units for implementing the recovery by readying the relevant records to show/prove that you did your job adequately but others ignored it, if what you narrated is the fact. I also believe your communications in this regard could have been destroyed or not acknowledged to maintain that they have not received. It's your duty to show the record who received it, when and where and how.
From India, Bangalore
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